The two legends share tremendous respect for each other

January 23, 2018

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Fernando Alonso doesn’t watch much NASCAR on television, but he’s very familiar with the sport's active seven-time champion, Jimmie Johnson.

In fact, his appreciation for the future NASCAR Hall of Famer actually goes back further than his record-tying seven championships or 83 Cup Series victories. Alonso was a fan of Johnson and the 48 team before they even became living legends.

"The first time I heard his name, it was probably 2003, 2004 in the NASCAR video game," Alonso said. "I used to choose him, not knowing him or not knowing the name -- just because of the car. I remember playing with another friend of mine, he likes a chocolate company I will not name now, and he was choosing that car and I was choosing Jimmie's car.

"But that was the first time I heard of him, and obviously the success that he has in the years in motor racing, he became a legend of our sport, and massive respect."

And yet, the two icons had never met until Tuesday afternoon, when Alonso visited Charlotte, North Carolina, for the annual NASCAR media tour.

Johnson had no idea the two-time F1 champion was scheduled for an appearance and did a double take when he saw his open-wheel counterpart outside of the media workroom. The two spoke outside for 10 minutes before participating in back-to-back press conferences.

Johnson called it a "fan moment" and picked Alonso’s brain about his much-ballyhooed run in the Indianapolis 500 last May.

"I’ve been a huge Alonso fan for a lot of years," Johnson said. "Just mentioned to him out there that the way he came and ran Indy -- and certainly did an amazing job in the car, but outside of the car — the friends I have on the IndyCar circuit, he just handled himself so well, did a great job and really brought a lot to the table when he raced here.

"His worldwide exposure in motorsports is really good for us here stateside."

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Alonso is making just his second foray into American motorsports culture by participating in the Rolex 24 at Daytona this weekend. Facing the American racing press on Tuesday, Alonso admitted that NASCAR is methodically drawing his interest.

So perhaps Alonso will someday join Johnson on the grid for a one-off stock car appearance.

"Now I’m going to endurance racing in a closed cockpit, so maybe one day try a different series and maybe even NASCAR, no? Why not?" Alonso said. "Right now, it looks quite far because I think the driving technique and the experience that all those guys have, it’s quite difficult for me to achieve that level, but I will never know until I try. So I would like maybe one day to test the car and after that, driving the car, I would know how enjoyable it could be in racing."

Alonso even admitted a growing interest in restrictor-plate racing.

"What I like about the racing in NASCAR is how unpredictable it is, and until the last lap, everyone is pushing each other and they’re trying to manage the strategy and think ahead of what is going to happen in the last lap, even 20 laps ahead," he said. "That’s something that is unique in motorsport, what NASCAR does. From the outside, it is very attractive. But from the inside, I don’t know in the cockpit how it would feel."

Fernando Alonso says he first heard of Jimmie Johnson while playing a NASCAR video game. The F1 champion picked the 48 because he liked the paint scheme. Now he respects him as a champion. pic.twitter.com/3nTxJ0ISTa